System of submarine transportation.



.No. 7|0,0 44. Patented Sept. 30, I902.

A. DAVIDSON. v SYSTEM OF SUBMARINE TRANSPORTATION. (Application filedMar. 3, 1902.)

(No Model.) a

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER DAVIDSON, OE JOLIET, ILLINOIS.

SYSTEM OF SUBMARINE TRANSPORTATION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,044, datedSeptember 30, 1902.

Application filed March 3, 1902. Serial No. 96,520. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ALEXANDER DAVIDSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Joliet, in the county of Will and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems of SubmarineTransportation; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention appertains to a system of submarine transportation,andhasfor its objects the conveyance of passengers in cars or coaches belowthe surface of the water for purposes of pleasure, novel experience, orsensation, to facilitate-the study and observance of submarine life,orto serve as a means of conveying persons across a stream where surfaceconveyance may for any reason he undesirable.

My invention includes within its scope a car for passengers, constructedin a watertight manner and provided with an air chamher or compartment.It includes a track built on a single or double incline from the shoreto and along the bottom of the pond or stream of-water, which may benatural or artificial, of means for hauling or propelling the car backand forth over the track, of means for supplying the car with air whilesubmerged, and of suitable signaling devices or apparatus by which theconductor may indicate to the'engineer on shore when to start or stopthe car-propelling mechanism.

In this application I have shown and described a preferred adaptation ofmy inven-' tion, and suitable means or mechanism for carrying out theobjects sought are embodied herein; but I do not wish to be-limited tothe specific forms shown, asmy-improved system may be carried out withvarious styles of devices and appliances and accomplish practically thesameresul ts attained by the means herein shown. For instance, I haveshown a style of water-tight car especially adapted for use in mysystem; but it is manifest that various modifications may be made in theform or construction of said car without altering its function orgeneral operation. I have shown two methods of supplying air to the carwhile submerged, and

same may be used together or separately. I have illustrated a signaldevice in which the messages between the car and the shore aretransmitted over wires electrically; but it will be apparent that awireless system of telegraphy or telephony might be substituted thereforwith advantage and economy. In the accompanying drawings,which form apart of my application, Figure I shows in side elevation my improvedsystem which forms the subject-matter of my invention. Fig. 2 shows atop plan view of the same; and Fig. 3 is a detail, partly in section, ofa preferred form of supplying air to the car.

Referring to the drawings in detail, A represents a car for passengers;B, a doubleincline track on which the car'travels; C, an endless cablefor hauling the car back and forth over the tracks, and D a drum onwhich the operating-cable is wound aud'which also serves as astorage-chamber for air supplied thereto under pressure from acompressor or pump E.

The car is formed with a cast-metal base of,

sheet-metal sides a with bowed or rounded ends a a all joints being madewater-tight in any etfective manner. At the front end a is located acompartment or chamber E adapted to hold air under pressure, and at therear end at is a door a through which passengers are admitted andemitted, the casing around the door being made water-tight by anyeifective means. In' the sides of the car are windows of, which arepreferably set in rubber frames or with rubber faces, so as 'to excludethe water.

' Extendingthrough,the roof of the car is a relief-valve I, throughwhich the air is allowed to escape when necessary to change theatmosphere of the car or to provide a circulation of air,-said valve.being adapted to 0perate automatically when the air-pressure within thecar exceeds the-resistance of the valve-spring f. Connected with the"airchamber E and located within the car is a reducing-valve G, by meansof which the airis admitted automatically to the car from theair-chamber at any desired pressure. Connected with the same chamber,but on the exterior of the car, is a back-pressure valve 6', with whichis connected the air-supply pipe K, such connection being eitherpermanent or periodical at such times as it may be necessary to fillsaid chamber with air under pressure. If desirable, said chamber couldbe supplied with liquid air, in which case connection with the valve 6'would be required only while the chamber was being filled. It will beapparent that the air-supply tank or chamber may be located on the landand a hose-pipe connection effected between it and the interior of thecar, and such arrangement could be used auxiliary to the' air-chamber inthe car. I have shown such arrangement in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

H represents a chambered extension of the drum E, the whole beingmounted on a hollow shaft J, with which is connected a pipe j, the otherend of which connects with the air-compressor. A suitable opening in theshaft within the chamber 72 permits the air which is admitted to theshaft under pressure to escape into the chamber, which in turn isprovided with an opening 71 in its side. Connected with this opening isa flexible hose-pipe K, which is of suflicient length to extend the fulldistance traveled by the car, the opposite end of said hose beingconnected with the hack-pressure valve 6 on said car. A practicallyair-tight joint is effected between the pipej and the hollow shaft by asuitable coupling L, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The hose-pipeis woundand unwound on the surface of the drum as the car moves toward or awayfrom the latter. Mounted above the drum on the same frame that supportsthe latter is asmall drum M, its shaftM' carrying a gear-wheel whichmeshes with the larger gear k on the main ordrive shaft J. Secured tothe face of the small drum is a suitably-insulated wire miwhich isconnected at its opposite end with the electrically-operated signaldevice N, located within the car, so that suitable signals maybe givenbetween the car and the shore, it being understood that return-wires areprovided and that the equipment includes a suitable batteryof any form.The wireor wiresm are wound and unwound upon the drum M as the car movesback and forth over the tracks.

Secured to the ends of the car, and preferably near its top or roof, isan endless cable C, which is wound on the drum E and is carried aroundgrooved pulleys or wheels 6 c and e, which are mounted on suitablevertical shafts located in the ground adjacent to the pond.

It will be obvious that if necessary the endless cable may be dispensedwith and the movement of the car in one direction he effected by gravityalone and on its return trip be drawn by a cable and that suchconstruction would be resorted to in the use of my system on rivers orvery large ponds or lakes where it would not be practicable to have acontinuous cable for reasons that will be apparent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire toobtain by Letters Patent, is

1. A system of submarine transportation comprising an observation-car, atrack over which said car is adapted to travel, means for propelling orhauling said car, means for supplying the car with air while submerged,and means for transmitting signals between the occupants of the car andpersons on land, all substantially in the manner and for the purpose setforth.

2. A system of submarine transportation comprising an observation-car, atrack over which said car is adapted to travel, means for hauling saidcar, means for supplying the car while submerged, with air, and forrenewing said supply of air while submerged, and means for transmittingsignals between the occupants of the car and persons on land,substantially as set forth.

3. A system of submarine transportation,

comprising an observation-car, a track over which said car is adapted totravel, means located on shore for hauling said car, an aircompressorlocated on shore and connected with the car by a flexible pipe, andmeans for exhausting the foul air within the car, and for admittingfresh air as needed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALEXANDER DAVIDSON. Witnesses:

F. BENJAMIN, CHARLES B. CHEADLE.

